BootsnAll Travel Community

howdy - i'm off for 6 months in cameroon in April, and i'm hoping someone can help me find out where to buy insecticide-impregnated mosquito netting? (in particular, the SQUARE-topped kind? [as opposed to the CIRCULAR-topped kind?]) i'm having trouble finding this in the u.s....

also (and far more importantlY!):
any recommendations on what's NOT TO BE MISSED on that great continent? i'd really love to go stay with a tribe for a month or so, but maybe i've just watched too much reality tv and that is a ridiculous notion. of course i'd love to see wildlife and tribespeople and jungles and beaches and everything - though not on an organized tour. i'd go nuts.

THANKS PEOPLE!

Hi,

There's a few items here:
http://gear.bootsnall.com/products/search?keywords=mosquito&x=0&y=0

I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for. What size of a net - to cover a full bed or something more portable?

thanks mika -
it is for a twin bed, and i need it treated with insecticide (is that something you would recommend i do on my own? or should i buy it pretreated?) thanks for the link - those look like they'll do the trick!

Hi. There are lots of general here on the thread just look around and see what others are saying about specific areas. My no miss list for Africa is kinda long and these are in no particular order of importance or geographical line, but they are places I have been to and loved. As for staying with a tribe think real hard on that because it's a lot rougher than you might think but a lot of fun at the same time if you do it in the right spirit.
Here's my list of favorite palces in subsaharan Africa.

Victoria Falls(bunji jump lots of fun)
The Ruins of the city of Zimbabwe.(you can feel the ghosts)
Mount Kilamanjaro(Hemighway got it right)
Zanzibar(love the people)
The Savanha in Tanzania(feel the freedom)
The Zambezi River(wonderful boat trip)
Safari in Zambia(the wildlife you see is the best)
Kuaboka Ceromony in May at Mongu, Zambia(love the drum music)

I have to admit that most of my time was spent in either Northern or Southern Africa not to much time on the West Coast.

Hi Jensue6,

I haven't ever used a mosquito net before, so I wouldn't have any recommendation whether to treat it or buy it pre-treated. Sorry...

But I know Avon's "skin so soft" works as a great insect repellent. Well worth taking the time to find and take with you.

thanks bushtracker and mika L - i keep hearing about zanzibar - may have to check that one out... and skin so soft is a good one - thanks agaiN!

I'm in Cameroon until July. Will you be based in one location or travelling the whole time? The organization that I am volunteering for can arrange some very non-touristy homestays in the northwest province. But if you have any specific questions on Cameroon, or especially North-west province, I would be happy to help.

I don't know anything about Africa, not having made it there yet, but I'm an old hand at mosquito nets! It's one of the few things I know way too much about.


First, you can buy them at military surplus stores, or online. And insecticide-laden or not, it's more important that the mesh be fine. Secretly, mosquitoes aren't all that repelled by insecticide. I mean, think about it. You still get mosquito bites, even after bathing in DEET, right?

Yeah, me, too.

So go to your local army surplus store, buy what you need, and bring duct tape to fix any hole that will inevitably arrive after....well, come to think of it, my mosquito net spent 15 years in the woods and another five in an ancient packpack, and it NEVER sprung a hole. AND it protected me from big hairy spiders, mosquitoes, biting flies, woodchucks, and other assorted wilderness monsters in the back woods of Michigan and abroad.

Hope that helps on the supplies side, if not the adventure part of your trip. Have a most excellent time!